Between You, Me, and the Scratching Posts
by AYangThang
Summary: Too many things have gone on unsaid, and too many old habits are hard to break. Between excuses and fear, the fact simply remains that it would just be easier if everyone just came out of the closet...though, in the Belladonna family hindsight really is 20/20. A story of personal identity and self-discovery. (No lemons) Winter/Kali/Yang, Blake/Ruby, Ghira/Qrow, and several others.
1. Chapter 1

**AYangThang:** …This has become a thing…and it will become a much larger thing if I have anything to say about it…and I'm not the only one, either. So, onward fandom, and write plenty more of the joyous pairing that is Elder-Cat-Burn...and yes, for those of you who don't know that is Winter/Kali/Yang in a triad…you can thank my screwed up little head later…and you can thank Dongyrn for the pairing name…

This is why we shouldn't be left alone on VOIP for any length of time…

 **Between You, Me, and the Scratching Posts  
Chapter 1**

Menagerie was an island nestled among deadly seas and Grimm infested forests. The citizens were nighty-five percent Faunus. Human outsiders were treated with distain. Among the other great powers, this island was frowned upon as one of the weakest, and though Menagerie was home to many great warriors, the Grimm were great too…both in numbers and in strength.

The chieftain of Menagerie was a large man who spent more time in his life hunched over his desk than anything else. He was a goal driven soul, and his wife had learned to accept that he would never be around nearly as much as she wanted him to be there. There were several reasons for that, many of them going on unaddressed to the public. She was well aware of his homosexual disposition, something that many Faunus were not yet able to accept, and though they worked hard to conceive a child and raise an heir, the two of them hadn't slept together since.

Instead, they shared a happy co-existence and even refused to end their marriage. It had been well over a decade and a half since the two of them had shared more than a kiss or passing caress, but that was a truth the couple kept to themselves. Even though the passionate flame was arguably never there in the first place for Ghira Belladonna, Kali never doubted the fact that he loved her, or that she would simply never be enough to fulfill his needs.

Kali always woke up in her own room, on the far side of their too large home. Sometimes, she had a bedfellow, and others, she did not...no matter what though, she was content with her lot in life.

She yawned, finding the queen sized bed empty. She smiled to herself when she reached out her palm. There was a faint warmth from beneath the sheets where her bedmate had once resided. She was not surprised that the woman who had fallen asleep there the night before was such an early riser. Her ears picked up distant bickering from elsewhere in the house, and with a smooth laugh she made her way to the kitchen.

Both house guests were already in the middle of their dispute about destruction of property, and some measure of drunken recklessness.

"My, my, you two are making quite the rucks this morning." Kali chided with an easy going smile. She passed by the man holding an ice pack to his head and eyed him with concern. "Qrow, if I've told you once, I've told you a million times not to pick fights in the bars around here..."

"She hit me." He grumbled, his thumb jutting out towards Winter.

"I would discipline my officers for less." Winter shot back from across the table. "Honestly, Qrow, if you could just keep a polite tongue in your mouth for one second, I wouldn't have the urge to maim you."

"See what I put up with?" Qrow asked, gesturing to Winter. "She's always busting my balls."

"Likely to her greatest dismay." Kali replied, examining the huge bruise located over the brow of Qrow's right eye. The swelling had gone down, and his aura had already entirely healed away the gashes that had likely resulted from a sword fight. "I'm not even going to ask. I suppose I should just be thankful the two of you didn't destroy my kitchen."

"I don't even know why he's here in the first place." Winter grumbled. "We agreed to keep our visits to the island as separate as possible."

"Screw off, I'm here on work." Qrow gulped down whatever hangover cure was in that mug of his before refilling it was more of the red slurry from the blender. "Dunno what your excuse is."

"I'm here to see my family during the summer break. As I understand it, Blake and Ruby chose to spend their holiday here, and you know Yang won't be far behind. Yang has no reason to go back Patch given the circumstances, and Weiss…" Winter sighed to herself. "Well, let's not make this breakfast any more unpleasant with that topic…"

"You're going to tell them, aren't you?" Qrow pressed.

"For the last time, no." Winter groused.

"Is this why the two of you are bickering?" Kali asked as she came to sit down with and empty teacup, pouring herself something to drink from the kettle. "I thought we agreed, we'd settle everything properly once the girls have graduated from Haven."

"That was the plan." Winter said stiffly. "Qrow has other plans."

The lone male in the room rolled his eyes. "Look, I don't have much room to go around telling Yang what to do. She's a grown ass woman, and can handle herself just fine. Only problem is, since the two of you are screwin' her, I think it might be best to clear the air…dump it all out in the open...rip off the Band-Aid, so-to-speak."

Kali thought on this. "Doing that would force you and Ghira to do the same. Are you prepared for that? Better yet, is he?"

Qrow scoffed as he downed another glass that reeked of vodka, tomato juice, and who knew what else. "I'm man enough to take that."

"Yang's terrified of how everyone will react." Kali said, flicking her ears back. "There are some things that require delicacy, and some people involved who do not adjust well to sudden changes. This was not a topic to be discussed over a phone call."

"Aren't going to need a phone call soon." He pointed out. "They'll be here, just sit them down and tell them."

"Our relationship is tenuous at best." Winter shot back. "Furthermore, it isn't your concern. You have your own romantic life to lead, we have ours."

"That's why Yang's choosing to spend the summer here, so that we can decide if what the three of us have between us is worth the pursuit." Kali said, allowing her hand to fall atop Winter's to settle her. "Qrow, I agree that Blake and the others have a right to know. The problem is, what do we tell them? How do we go about doing so? These are questions that need a proper answer, and we simply don't have one to offer just yet. Until we do, it's best that we don't say a word."

"Damn you all have to be complicated." He sighed.

"There you have it." Winter voiced in her no-nonsense tone. "Once Kali, Yang, and I have decided how best to define our relationship, then we will do something about it."

* * *

Winter sat on the single balcony, looking out to the dirt road far ahead in the distance. Menagerie was so different from her home in Atlas. Her apartment was far from the major city, and secluded from her family's mansion. She liked to escape from the base for a little peace and quiet. There was nothing wrong with the solitude, even as lonely as the snowy north could be. It made her immensely more grateful for the small joys she took in life, rare as they were.

Still, there were times that crushing loneliness lingered, looming above her head like a dark cloud. Darker memories would surface, doubt would creep into her heart, and that hurt. Licking her lips, she leaned back on the hammock, and that dredged up some older memories too. Fond ones.

It was Yang's favorite place to lay around, and left forgotten were a few of her trinkets that she fidgeted with. If Winter closed her eyes, even she could smell the lingering remains of oil and sports deodorant. She opened her eyes again, half expecting, half hoping she would see that infernal yellow contraption that Yang called a bike speeding down the dirt path.

Obviously, that was too much to ask for...

Winter gazed out to the clothes line, half expecting to see Kali's own set of dark riding leathers airing out from last year's storage, or neatly folded on one of the bedside dressers, waiting for the first time to be used since last year's fateful summer break when their entire dalliance began. Winter could only gaze sadly at her own attire, wondering if she would ever wear the supple leathers again. She missed riding along the coastline at break-neck speed, eyes closed as she trusted implicitly in Yang's abilities.

She couldn't recall the last time she allowed herself to have such blind trust in anyone before Yang and Kali entered into her life.

"How is it possible to miss a single person so much?" Winter asked to the open air, not expecting a response.

Footfalls padded across the bedroom until Kali peered out from beyond the sliding door. "Uncanny, isn't it? She's gone for just long enough that her scent begins to fade, and then the next thing I know, it's time for another break, and the girls come back home…in a small way, I'd call it torture."

"I suppose it is, in its own way." Winter nodded, spinning one of the little gadgets that had absolutely no reason to be sitting around. It was strange, watching it spin and spin without end. Stopping the metal toy, she set it aside and closed her eyes. "Yang was here during the spring break as well, correct?"

"Yes, but that only lasts for two weeks, It's hardly enough time, considering the time it takes for them to travel." Kali said as she came outside fully, curling up beside Winter in the overly large hammock. They began to rock gently. "I didn't say this to Qrow, but last time Yang was here, she confided that she was considering dropping out of school. When I asked why she would even think about doing that, she said that it wasn't the same, and left it at that."

"I see."

"On top of that, her arm still bothers her. I caught her biting down on the inside of her cheek whenever it rained. I could tell she was in agony…she denied it, of course."

"That's to be expected." Winter assessed. "The stub of her arm will be prone to aching."

"She still has nightmares too."

Winter cracked one eye open, and then slowly followed with the other, giving the Faunus woman a sideways glance that was half adoration, and half vexation. "I know."

"Well, there has to be something we can do." Kali said, as she scanned the treetops as the birds flew by, catching her attention.

"Yang's fine." Winter remarked. "You're the one who worries over nothing."

Kali nodded half-heartedly as she leaned into Winter, curling into the slender but powerful woman's embrace. She didn't fully believe that, because she never fully believed that Winter and Yang were entirely unscathed given their predisposition for danger. "So, I'm a worrier then. Someone has to worry about the two of you, goodness knows you don't worry enough about yourselves."

"Then we will simply have to try harder not to give you a reason to worry." Winter said simply.

"Now that's impossible." Kali said, flicking the sword Winter kept at her side.

* * *

The voyage to Menagerie was a long one filled with peril. Even the safest routes had Grimm that passed by on occasion, and although the ships could take down hordes of smaller Grimm, the large ones proved difficult to deal with. The waters were unusually calm though, and the members of team RWBY enjoyed the warm sun and salty sea breeze since there was nothing better to do. Even Weiss found an excuse to slather herself with sunblock and put on a hat, basking in the warmth.

She didn't waste any time finding a chair to recline in and watch the landscape.

Blake tried to be calm, but going home always skyrocketed her anxiety tenfold. It was just awkward being around such a warm and loving family when she felt as though she would never be worthy of such acceptance. It was going to be even worse this time around, and Blake fought the urge to fling herself off of the boat and unto the blue depths below.

She was good at running. Her semblance allowed her to run. To hide…to forsake everything she thought she felt, and slip away into nothingness. If it saved her even one moment of awkward tension, then it would be worth it. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option, not this time. She swallowed hard as she felt Ruby grip her hand shyly, the younger woman as innocent in her affection as could possibly be.

Then again, it was that selfsame tender spirit that worried Blake so much. "Ruby, are you sure about this? We don't _have_ to tell them."

"I don't see why not, Blake." Ruby shrugged. "I mean, you do want to tell them, right?"

"Yes…" Blake said before looking around for some sort of distraction, and finding none. "It's just that Faunus aren't as accepting about some practices as humans are…and let's face it, not even all humans would be accepting of us."

Ruby didn't seem to care one way or the other, but she cocked her head to the side, her question simple and soft. "Do you want to hide it?"

"No!" Blake said far too loudly for her own liking before her ears flattened back and she crouched further into her chair in the corner of the boat. She had chosen this one particularly. It was well away from prying eyes. "No…no, it's not like that, I just…" She bit her lip. "My father is very traditional. The idea of two women together, a Faunus and human woman…well..." She sighed again. "I just don't know how he will react."

"Your mom will be fine with it though, won't she? She can talk him into being okay with pretty much anything." Ruby noted. "Just like the time we might have accidentally knocked down a few too many trees while training."

"Ruby…why do you do that?" Blake said.

"Do what?"

"Find a bright side to everything. You see the good in everything, everywhere…" Blake rolled her eyes then. "Some things just ask for trouble."

"I guess I just feel like I've got to. Like it's the right thing to do." Ruby said with a shrug. "Why do you push yourself so hard...and push people away while doing it?"

"I have to." Blake murmured.

Ruby continued to let Blake go on thinking that she hadn't been overheard. Choosing not to fight that battle for the umpteenth time, the youngest among them shook her head with a small laugh. "Blakey, your dad is way cool. He'll be okay with us being together. I'll bet he likes me way more than Sun."

"He likes everyone more than he likes Sun…" Blake groused.

Ruby frowned, squeezing just a little harder, hoping that might help Blake more, but then Yang came to the rescue.

"Maybe so, Blake. You might be right. I really think Ruby's right on the money, though." Yang interjected. "I don't think he'll give two shits."

"Yang, you don't think anyone can be phased by anything." Weiss shot back. "I, for one, think Blake should be at least a little concerned. If her father doesn't approve, he could disown her, or worse."

"Shut-up, Weiss." Yang sighed, before giving Blake a glance. "Not gonna happen, kitten. You've got nothing to worry about."

"I'm not saying it to be cruel, believe me. I wish for the best outcome, truly I do. I'm just well aware of how terrible it can be to be proven wrong." Weiss replied as she sat up and removed her sunglasses from the bridge of her nose. "Listen, Blake, prepare yourself for the worst. In the event that it does happen, at least you won't be completely devastated. That's all I'm trying to say."

"Don't start freaking out for no good reason." Yang said again. "You want a reason to freak out, I've got a better one for you. Uncle Qrow and Winter are going to be there for the summer too."

The other three team members gave Yang a glare, thinking it was a joke, but there was no sign of humor lighting up her eyes. She wasn't joking, not the slightest bit.

Finally, Ruby found the courage to speak the question they were all thinking. "Is the house still in one piece?"

"Probably…" Yang shrugged.

Blake stood up from her chair, prying her hand gently out of Ruby's. "I need a moment." She told her, grabbing the keys to their room and excusing herself.

With her heart feeling as though it was lodged in her throat, she made it back to the room and into the terribly small bathroom where she splashed water on her face. She needed time to think, time to reflect, and time to do it in her own way. Without prying eyes, or heartfelt encouragement, no matter how well-meaning it might be.


	2. Chapter 2

"I should have been happy being with guys. If not with Adam, then at least with Sun. Really, what was wrong with Sun?"

Blake as she looked in the mirror, watching droplets of water drip down her face. She bit her lip, her amber eyes searching for something more, something better. "Ugh, it's pointless anyway. I _should_ be happy now with Ruby. That's how it's supposed to be."

But, Blake wasn't happy, not completely.

She had never been quite sure of herself when it came to men, and women were even more confusing to her. Both were appealing to look at, that had never been the problem. It was something else, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Her past was a blotchy mess of failed relationships of all kinds, and she only had herself to blame for all of it.

Being with Ruby was the first thing that started to feel right, the first thing that just made sense. So why wasn't it enough?

There were plenty of reasons for why that was, several of which she didn't dare try to address herself, or even try to explain to her friends. She just couldn't, even though Blake knew, deep down, she needed that the most. Ruby was always inquisitive, always willing to seek solutions to everything, even if doing so caused trouble. Blake supposed that if they were going to muddle through things, they might as well do it together.

Blake hated to admit it, but it still scared her, made her gut turn, and her heart tremble in the worst of ways…and of course, that just made Ruby worry about her…which in turn put Yang on the defensive, and for good reason.

Yang knew, in fact, they all knew just what kind of emotional damage she was capable of inflicting. The sort of damage she promised she would never cause again.

"Whoever's by the door, back off…" Blake said loud enough to be able to be heard by human ears through the closed wooden door. The person outside didn't move. "I can hear you! I know you're there!"

"Then pull your head out of your ass, and open the door." Yang ordered, both without heat or rage.

"Not now."

"Yes now." Yang insisted. "I'll totally bust it down."

"I'd rather did didn't." Blake called. "Haven't you heard of privacy?"

"You don't have anything I haven't seen before, open the damn door."

Rolling her eyes, Blake grasped the handle and turned, forcing it open. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm a little busy…"

"Cut the crap, kitten you'd lock yourself in there all day if we let you." Yang said. "I'm not going to let her come running to you every time you panic." Yang said offhandedly, leaning on the wall. Her lilac eyes flicked over to Blake, holding her stare. "She would, but you don't deserve that kind of crutch. You gotta run to people, not away from them."

"I know." Blake sighed. "I'm trying."

"Don't try." Yang said. "Do. It's as simple as that. If you dance around her feelings, you'll get hurt."

"Are you threatening me?" Blake asked, partially unsure.

"That depends." Yang said softly. "Do you want me to threaten you? You think that would do you any good?"

Blake just shrugged. "I don't know."

"Yeah, well I don't want to, either." Yang said.

"Now, that I do know." Blake tried to smile, but she just couldn't. "If you wanted to, you would have done it several times over."

"I won't let her chase you. If you leave her, it's over. You know that, right?" Yang asked. "You want to freak out, fine, freak out…but if you turn Ruby into an excuse, or worse, you chicken out on her, she won't be coming after you."

"I'm-" Blake cut herself off.

"You what?"

"I'm never going to just abandon Ruby."

Yang just shrugged. "Yeah, except when you do. Ran away from us once...until I see otherwise, I'll assume you'll do it to her eventually."

Blake swallowed hard. "No Yang." She murmured. "I won't."

She would never leave Ruby…then again, she knew how the younger woman thought. Ruby would just insist on tagging along everywhere, no matter the danger, or how far. That was just the way Ruby was. That was how all of the team could be.

"Prove it." Yang said after a long moment of silence.

"How?" The Faunus asked.

Blake could hear the metal gears working in Yang's arm, constricting as she flexed. The blonde wasn't toying around, and Blake could feel the temperature in the room rise ever so slightly, the same it always did when Yang was lost deep in thought. It wasn't normally an uncomfortable feeling. Quite the contrary. There were many times Blake found herself thankful for that gentle heat. The way it licked at her in this moment, consuming the air, it was different. It wasn't an angry heat, not the sort that meant fire was soon on it's way, but it still made her edgy.

"Stick around." Yang finally said. "When she's as old as sin, and you're still here, then I'll believe you. Until then, well, I guess you got a lot of proving to do…"

* * *

Cat Faunus hailed from ancestors who were strictly carnivores, and as such, there was something to be said about the smell of fried chicken wafting through the kitchen alongside the waffles cooking on the iron. Ghira tromped through the household in search of the delicious smelling food. The temptation was too great, and he couldn't resist reaching for a chicken leg from the paper towel upon which it sat.

A hard slap with a spatula stopped him cold.

"Don't you dare." Kali warned, turning her back towards the stove. "Those just came out of the oil, you'll burn your mouth."

"Oh." He said simply. "My apologies."

"We both know that's a lie." Kali said with a laugh. "Go ahead, bite into one, then you truly will be."

"My savior." He bowed. "I'll simply take your word for it."

Kali looked over her shoulder again with a gentle smile. "If you're looking for Qrow, he's out back with a bottle of your best Vodka."

"Vodka?" Ghira asked, eyebrow raised as he went to retrieve the dinner plates and set the table. "He hates Vodka."

"It's the only hard liquor Winter will drink. She's always preferred wine."

"Ah, I see." At that he took a detour to one of the back windows, gazing out at the two guests in the back yard. They were being civil, or at least what passed for civil. A faint blush stained Winter's normally pale cheeks, a sure sign that she was keeping up with the man in the chair across from her. "At least they seem to be getting along."

"I'd beg to differ. I promised Winter I wouldn't pry, but it seem they're in the midst of another argument…although, they have so many, I don't have a clue what it happens to be about this time. I've given up keeping track…there is one argument though, and that one does worry me."

Though he listened intently to his wife, Ghira was a simple man that didn't chat idly too often. In spite of this, felt compelled to finish setting the table before coming back to her side. One large hand fell over her shoulder, lingering there just long enough to be a little more than friendly, and she leaned into him gratefully.

"Qrow wants to tell the girls." She said quietly, answering his unspoken question.

"I know." Ghira replied slowly. "We've discussed it to great length."

"And?" Kali asked.

"And he knows my opinion." Ghira replied curtly, pulling away.

Kali gave her husband a look, one cultivated by many years of living together with him. "That's lovely, but if you don't mind, I would also like to know it."

"Now is not the time to tell them anything. It just doesn't make sense to upheave our lives in such a manner." Ghira said. "I don't think Blake will be so willing to accept such a drastic turn of events. Furthermore, there is a reason Winter kept her sexuality hidden away for so long, and we can't overlook that."

"That had far more to do with her position in the military." Kali said, brushing that little detail aside. "The topic never came up before, it never needed to. Now though..." She trailed off as she looked at him. "Well, maybe it does."

"It still doesn't _need_ to." Ghira bristled as he pushed the thought as far away from his mind as his sanity would let him. "It would be best if it _never_ did."

"Ghira…"

"It's wholly and entirely unnatural." He interrupted, quickly gazing about the house as if he might be overheard. A ludicrous notion to be sure, but one he had none the less. Then he lowered his voice in a way that was drenched in self-loathing. "I _can't_ be gay. I'm the chieftain of the one Faunus nation among all of Remnant. I'm a sire, an alpha male…men such as myself do not fall in love with other men…they do not…share relations…with other men."

"Expect for when they do." Kali said softly. "And you do."

"I am not telling my daughter that I'm a freak of nature." He said gruffly.

"Well, I would certainly hope not." Kali said to him. "I'm merely implying that there's more to mating than having children. Sex is a liberating feeling, we shouldn't feel ashamed of it, homosexual sex or not."

"Please don't use that word…" He balked.

"What, sex?" Kali asked. "Sex, sex, sex."

"Kali!"

"It's just a word, honey. Humans use it all the time." Her chest felt heavy, and now that she thought about it, she found the normal Faunus mindset to be rather stifling. "We're not animals, Ghira, if humans can be gay, so can Faunus. I personally don't think there's anything wrong with admitting that…"

"Be that as it may, you know my opinion on this matter." Ghira replied. "I'm not saying a word, and that's final."

* * *

Bzzt ~ Bzzt ~ Bzzt

The sound of the scroll vibrating across the nightstand was grating to Kali's sensitive hearing. Her ears flicked softly against the feather pillow as she reached out to grasp onto the annoying device.

"Hello?" Kali asked sleepily into the receiver of her scroll.

"Hey…"

"Yang." Kali, looked over to the clock. "It's two in the morning, is everything okay?"

"Define okay…"

"So the answer is no, then." Kali noted gently, tongue clicking against her teeth.

"No, I'm fine...I'm not hurt or anything."

"There is something, though, isn't there?" Cat Faunus replied, looking over her shoulder. Winter was awake now, leaning up on her elbow trying to listen. Remembering Winter's lack of sensitive hearing, she turned on the speaker of her phone. "Winter's here too."

"I'm just thinking…I guess that's the whole problem."

"Typical..." Winter put her hand on Kali's wrist, coaxing the phone closer. "Yang. Talk. Now."

"It's nothing. I just needed to hear your voices." Yang said quietly, brushing away the thickness in her tone to the best of her ability.

"It was another nightmare, wasn't it?" Winter asked.

"…"

"Yang, out with it." Winter ordered.

"Winter..." Kali chided, but was left ignored by her white haired lover, who merely shushed her in passing.

"…I…" Yang cursed under her breath, but to Kali, the four letter swear was as clear as day. "It wasn't another nightmare, but my head just won't shut up. It's weird hearing your best friend just blurt out your worst fears, and having to just brush it aside like it's no big deal. Especially when you know for sure that for them it won't be...but that the same might not be true in reverse."

"That's….incredibly vague…" Kali struggled, too tired to make sense of anything Yang had said.

"Sorry…I just…" Yang couldn't say anything else…not without outing Blake and Ruby, and that wasn't a conversation Yang had any right to have. "I can't explain it better."

Winter rubbed her face tiredly, her ire mellow, but slowly rising. "Yang, listen, think of something else. Anything else."

"I wish I could….I'm just, stuck there…hey, just a sec…"

They waited as they heard Blake's exhausted voice garbled as she spoke to Yang, but she was too far away for Kali to pick up on what was being said. The conversation lasted a short while before rustling indicated that Yang had put the scroll back to her ear.

"Hey, I'm back…sorry about that. Looks like my team knows I'm awake…I…I gotta go…we'll be in port tomorrow, so…yeah…just, could you be there?"

"We will be there." Winter interjected. "Yang, either cry your eyes out, or go to bed."

"I can't…I just… like I said, I gotta go."

The line went dead a moment later, leading Winter to bury herself under the covers with an aggravated huff, and Kali holding her now silent scroll. She looked at it sadly "I told you this was worth worrying about. She's going to cry herself to sleep again…"

"Go. To. Sleep." Winter groused.

"How can I, when I know she's so torn up inside?"

"Don't think about it."

"Winter, Yang's hurting so much." Kali put the scroll back onto her bedside table. "I just wish I could hold her in my arms. Tell me that you aren't worried about her."

There was a very pregnant pause before Winter flung the bedsheets off of her torso. It seemed neither of the women in her life wanted her to sleep tonight. "Alright, alright. If you're going to keep me up all night, let's at least put the kettle on."


	3. Chapter 3

Ghira rubbed at his face, feeling the onset of fatigue settle over him. He hadn't slept a wink last night. Neither did Qrow. Instead, they both turned to what distractions seemed to quell their minds the best. The Faunus to his people, and the man to his drink. Honestly, neither practice was very healthy. Ghira could attest several times he used his work as an excuse, a crutch, so that he wouldn't have to let he fears idle in his mind for any length of time.

Qrow swirled his drink the same exact way every time, slow and methodical. It seemed second nature, a habit born of too many long nights spent in the confines of her own mind. He didn't say much when in such a mood. He would only sit in the armchair made of wicker and stew in his thoughts until something or someone demanded otherwise. There was something unquestionably broken about Qrow. Glass-like, obvious, and yet completely inexplicable all at the same time. The man was like a puzzle, in all the ways a person could possibly be one.

Almost to the point he contradicted himself at every turn.

Ghira wasn't quite sure what attracted him to such a man. He was easy on the eyes, sure. The soul was another matter entirely. "Qrow, that's the sixth glass in an hour."

"So it is." Qrow replied distantly, downing it, and then pouring another. "Goodbye number eight, and hello number nine." The gravel in his voice was deep and relaxed, the booze flooding his system calming him as he lazily downed the amber liquid.

"That's the seventh glass." Ghira corrected as he sighed from behind his desk.

Qrow shrugged carelessly. "If you say so."

A smile tugged at his lips in spite of himself, and Ghira closed the book that kept the public funds on record. Although he was the chieftain, Menagerie had several people in charge of keeping the Faunus safe-hold in order, and his accountants were among his most trusted. The rest of their recommendations could wait for another time. "It's sunrise, we'll have to be at the docks to greet the girls before noon. Don't you think you should sober up a bit for the occasion?"

"If I did that, I wouldn't be any fun."

"I'd beg to differ."

Qrow only looked at the drink in his hands, and then to Ghira. He downed it, and set the glass down. "Those girls know what to expect of me by this point."

"Everything to expect?"

At this, Qrow met the sunny yellow eyes of Ghira, not minding that he had to look up to do so. "Everything." He repeated slowly, with so much certainty that most people would find it unsettling. "Everything failure I've ever had, every success I've ever earned, and all of my bullshit in-between."

Ghira nodded, his frown carving deeply across his face. "And, when it comes to this?" He asked, looking away, only to flick his gaze back to Qrow's. Those deep and knowing eyes of his full of their usual cockiness. "To _us_." He corrected uneasily. It felt so right to his ears, and so wrong to his very logic. Even so, he pressed on. "When it comes to us, you expect it will go well?"

Qrow chuckled darkly. "I suppose that depends on what you mean by well."

"So, you expect it will go unwell."

"Son of a Grimm-bitch…it's not like that either." Qrow closed his eyes and stretched, his back and neck popping to his satisfaction. Then he grabbed the glass, and poured another, this time handing it off to his lover. "Look, sit your ass down, and drink that before you kill my buzz."

"I really don't think-"

"Drink!" Qrow ordered, before quieting. "Don't make me pour the goddamn thing down your throat." Once Ghira took a seat and a sip, Qrow sat beside him. His arms crossed, and he peered at the fire. They sat that way quietly, and Qrow wasn't intent on continuing the conversation so soon. He could tell that Ghira was more than a little confused, edgy, and so many other things that the hunter couldn't even begin to name. "Let me put it this way…"

He bit his lip, looking around the room. He never really wanted a home, or a place to call his own. He never wanted the dusty memories that built up in such places, ghosts of his past haunting him. Qrow had built his life around the worst outcomes, the worst things that could happen. His semblance, himself, he was a menace to those he loved, a harbinger of misfortune to those he cared about…his life, his actions, were all too difficult to predict.

He learned long ago to push away those emotions. To simply not give a damn.

"Sooner or later, you might not have an option." Qrow murmured. "I don't know what will happen, but one thing I do know is that Yang makes the most out of everything. That's how she's chosen to live. One day, Yang will come out of the closet eventually, Ghira. When she does I have to support that, even if that means pulling this whole mess right out of the woodwork."

"As a father, I've let down my child more than once. There are some things that are unforgiveable, and what if this is one of them? What if Blake runs again?" Ghira asked. "I couldn't take that."

"Take it from the king of monumental fuck-ups." Qrow said then. "She's not going to run, she might do a lot of things, but running isn't one of em."

* * *

She gripped her weapon so hard it threatened to fracture under her grip. The docks had come into view. Her parents stood side by side, waving at the boat with happy smiles. Their actions made her cringe. She never could understand why her parents were so forgiving of her mistakes, and another bubble of guilt popped in the pit of her gut like poison. She gripped Ruby's hand tighter, as if that would somehow anchor her there.

There was no time to wiggle her way out of it, not now, not with the boat so close to the port. She wanted to leave, desperately, but there was no hiding this time.

She would have to grin and bear it. She forced a smile, and a long slow breath. This whole ordeal was made only a fraction easier by the fact that the rest of her team stood at her side. Ruby cuddled in close, and though her Faunus senses told her this, her numbed mind could only do the one single thing it did the best.

Panic.

"Yang, are you okay?" Weiss asked, pulling Blake from her thoughts as she looked over to blonde headed friend.

"I'm fine." Yang said with a smirk. "Just…thinking."

"Yang, you're smoking. Your hair is literally smoking." Weiss pointed out for emphasis, plucking one wayward strand as all the evidence she needed. Weiss gently held the strand lax in her grip as the heat waved off of it. "It's only a matter of time before you catch fire."

"I'm just worried about Blake and Ruby." Yang shrugged, it wasn't the entire truth, but it wasn't at all a lie. She was worried about them, about all of them. "Big changes are going to be happening this summer, after all. Gotta keep my guard up."

"Sis, could you maybe um, not?" Ruby asked. "I really don't want there to be a fire on the ship."

"Can't help it." Yang said, her voice casual, though inwardly her chest was constricting tightly. "Gotta protect my baby sis and all."

"From who or what are you protecting her from?" Weiss could only shake her head as Yang grinned at her.

"Stuff."

"How eloquent of you." Weiss deadpanned. "Well should this 'stuff' of yours prove to be an actual threat, and not just unfounded paranoia, I'll happily battle at your side. However, I implore you to settle your semblance this instant before you become the threat and we have to throw you into the water."

"Relax." Yang grinned. "I'm cool, it's all good."

"Come on guys, we're about to dock." Ruby said happily. "Let's go make sure we have everything."

Yang swallowed hard at that. She was not cool. She was the furthest thing from cool. In fact, if she didn't know any better, she'd say she was burning from the inside out.

* * *

 **AYangThang:** Just a short chapter, I'm a little rusty after taking a break from writing during the month of July.


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